The 1st person sentenced for ‘revenge porn’ in Pierce County is charged with it again

Ex-boyfriend is the first sentenced for ‘revenge porn’ in Pierce County.

Michael Andrew Hart was sentenced April 6, 2018 for stalking, cyberstalking, violating protection orders, and for distributing sexual images of his ex-girlfriend and others online in 2016.
By

Up Next

Michael Andrew Hart was sentenced April 6, 2018 for stalking, cyberstalking, violating protection orders, and for distributing sexual images of his ex-girlfriend and others online in 2016.
By

The first person in Pierce County to be sentenced for so-called “revenge porn” has been charged with that crime again, less than a month after the state Department of Corrections says he was released from prison.

Unlimited Digital Access: Only $0.99 For Your First Month

A woman told police that she and Hart went to high school together and that he recently contacted her on Facebook.

They started spending time together, and she said Hart quickly became controlling, scary, and “revealed himself to be an ‘(expletive),’” deputy prosecutor Robert Yu wrote in the declaration for determination of probable cause.

She started trying to cut ties with him after about two weeks.

She showed police a petition for a protection order that she’d written, which said Hart:

▪ Showed up at her home after she told him not to, repeatedly rang the doorbell and knocked, then repeatedly called her phone and left messages demanding sex and her prescription medicine.

▪ Demanded nude photos from her in text messages and voice messages, got angry when she said no and told her he would get what he asked.

▪ Told her that she doesn’t know when to shut up, that he beats such women and that she is a dangerous woman.

▪ Told her that if he gets in trouble again he faces 12 years in prison and that he’ll start killing women.

She also told police that Hart showed her a sexual photo of a woman, the description of which matched a photo of an ex that he was sentenced for under the so-called “revenge porn” law last year.

In that case Hart spread sexual images of his ex-girlfriend, her sister and her friend across Facebook without their permission.

He was sentenced to seven years last year after he pleaded guilty to stalking, cyberstalking, four counts of violating a domestic violence protection order and six counts of disclosing intimate images — which state lawmakers made a gross misdemeanor in 2015. If he’s convicted of disclosing intimate images again, that law makes it a felony.

Hart got credit for time served in jail awaiting the resolution of his case and was given a special drug offender sentencing alternative, which meant he was eligible to spend a significant part of his sentence getting treatment in the community.

As Judge Karena Kirkendoll handed down the sentence, she told Hart that she believed him to be dangerous and ordered him to get mental health, drug and domestic violence treatment. The sentence also included additional time that was suspended, as long as he avoided further trouble with the law.

“I need to change, and I want to change, and I will change,” Hart told the judge.

Hart’s attorney argued that he suffered from a substance abuse problem and mental health trouble.

Prosecutors argued for a longer sentence and said he was calculated in trying to destroy his ex’s life by distributing graphic and demeaning images.

The ex-girlfriend, identified by the initials S.C., told the court that she dated Hart for six years, and that he physically, sexually and emotionally abused her.

“The only way we can protect ourselves from him is to keep him locked up,” S.C. told the court.